News

Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Arson-Counter-Terrorism Section have been investigating a series of small trash fires set outside South Los Angeles buildings in the early morning hours of Thursday, May 14, 2015.

On Tuesday, May 19, 2015, LAFD investigators arrested Alejandra Dovale, a 36-year-old transient, who is suspected of setting a fire outside of 117 W. 39th Street just before 1 a.m. on Thursday, May 14. Dovale was arrested without incident in the area of 59th Street and Flower Street in South Los Angeles. Investigators relied on surveillance video and neighborhood canvassing to identify Dovale. She was booked at the LAPD 77th Street Jail on a charge of Arson of a Structure (451(c) PC) and her bail was set at $75,000.

The case will be presented to the District Attorney’s Office for consideration of filing. Investigators are still working to determine if Dovale is connected to numerous other small trash fires that were set in the general vicinity during the overnight hours of May 14.

"Arson is a serious crime and we have zero-tolerance for willful acts of destruction in the City of Los Angeles," said LAFD Chief Ralph M. Terrazas. "We are thankful there were no injuries or lives lost as a result of these fires and we will always investigate and prosecute the serious crime of arson to the fullest extent of the law."